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“Then why the hell are you fighting him so hard.”Astrid asked, a sense of caring and concern emanating from the Sleipnir Mare.
“Because I can’t bring him into this mess. Putting him at risk before we even really know each other is just not right. I have to catch Vanessa and Hammond and make sure they are put in the deepest, darkest hole in the deepest, darkest Pit in Hell so they can’t hurt anyone else. Then, and only then, can I give myself to Donovan. Enter into a new relationship, take the next important step in my life with a clean slate.”
“Oh, that’s just a load of hogwash. He’s already in it up to that sexy ass of his and so are you,”Astrid huffed, her exasperation palpable. “My old momma used to say, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’. That’s what being with your Mate is all about. You let down your walls, let that person in, share everything that you are – the good, the bad, and the ugly – with one of the few people in the world who will love you for exactly who you are, not what they want you to be. You need to get over yourself, Carlotta Maldese-Dalgaard, before it’s too late.”
“Too late? Wait one second! What the hell are you talkin’ about?”Lottie gasped.“Too late for what?”
But there was no answer coming. There was no time. Astrid had felt it a split-second before it happened. Something unplanned, unforeseen, and really bad in all the wrong ways.
From one beat of Lottie’s heart to the next, the Magic of the portal fell away. Just like the pop of a balloon or a strike of lightning in a clear blue sky - out of place, completely unexpected, and horribly wrong.
Thrown out of the swirling, twirling compendium of time and space, Lottie, Jianna and Van were unceremoniously dumped smack dab into the center of a huge crater the Sleipnir Shifter knew all too well. Up on her feet like she’d been shot out of a cannon, spinning one way and the other, she saw her Dragon standing about fifty feet to her left and the Valkyrie the same distance to the right.
“Where the hell are we?” Jianna snarled. “It’s hotter than hell and smells like death.”
“Welcome to Mexico!” Lottie yelled at precisely the same second as Van, the only difference being that her Dragon went on explaining.
“We’re exactly halfway between Guadalajara and Mexico City in the middle of nowhere where even the most experienced trackers, coyotes, or rattlesnakes don’t dare to go.” Scratching the stubble across his beautiful jaw, the Guardsman scoffed, “It’s not hell, but a lot of us call it the Devil’s Armpit.”
Head snapping to the side, she asked the Guardsman, “How doyouknow where we are? Aren’t you a city boy?”
“Not anymore,” he barked with sarcastic laughter. “The MacAllen boys initiated me into the family…”
She tried not to smile as he made air quotes and the chuckle in his voice took on a fondness that she’d only ever heard when he was talking about the MacAllens, but it was hopeless. She was a goner for sure. Donovan Cross was a good man, a good Guardsman, and a damned fine DIA Agent and that only equaled one thing…
I’m in love just as sure as God made little green apples…
Astrid was right. Lottie loved Donovan Cross with every fiber of her being and then some and it was way past time for her to swallow her pride and tell him how she felt.
Right after we get out of the desert…
Tuning back into Van’s explanation, Lottie laughed out loud as he added, “…with a case of tequila and a midnight ride in the back of Gage’s truck where I was unceremoniously dumped out here wearing nothing but my boxers and my only pair of worn-out cowboy boots.”
“Oh, damn,” Lottie chuckled. “That must have been…”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Spinning on her toes as the sound of a condescending slow clap rebounded off the tall, terracotta walls surrounding them in the largest basin the Chihuahuan Desert had to offer, Lottie’spreternatural eyesight zeroed in on the unmistakable silhouette of Vanessa Marron. She would’ve known that five-foot-one stature anywhere, not to mention the stench of rotten eggs and ash polluting the hot, dry air of the home she loved with all her heart, but it was the long tresses of platinum curls that sealed the deal.
Hands at her sides, the ancient Magic of the Goddess Rhiannon popping and crackling from the tips of her fingers, Lottie’s body shook with the effort it took not to blow the murderous bitch to bits. Mind whipping through one scenario after the other, her eyes darted around the crater, up the steep, jagged walls, and back to the exact spot where Vanessa Marron stood.
“You people put on a better show than Carol Burnette, Harvey Corman, and Tim Conway all wrapped into one. Watching you chase your tails while looking like total buffoons has kept me in stitches. Such a shame it all has to end.” Fluffing her long, stringing curls, the murderer haughtily goaded, “But then again, at least I’ll have everything I ever wanted. That is, after all, what’s important here.”
“This was planned,”Astrid’s hiss filled Lottie’s mind.“The whole damned thing was a setup, right down to the…”
“Good catch, Astrid,” Vanessa baited, her cackle echoing through the basin. “Shame you’re a little slow on the draw.”
“And it’s a shame you don’t know who you’re messing with,” Lottie spat, making it exactly three steps before a ring of Hellfire sprung to life all around her.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Vanessa taunted, her voice thick as it reverberated with the unholy sorcery it took to keep the flames burning and Lottie locked inside. “See, Carlotta, I do know who I’m dealing with, probably better than you do.”
Holding out her hand, the wannabe-Priestess conjured the Grimoire of the Coven of the Guardians of the Goddess, the most sacred of books, the one she killed for, and maliciously tapped the leather cover with the hooked and jagged, bloodred nail of the index finger of her free hand. “I know exactly who you are, what you are, and most importantly, what you’re capable of.”
Sauntering along the rim of the crater, making a show of her stolen power and some apparent knowledge she’d acquired through her ill-gotten gains that she could hold over Lottie and her friends, Vanessa touted, “Like, I know that you refuse to claim or be claimed by your Mate, and that because of that you have one fatal weakness, have left yourself vulnerable… can be killed like a normal human.”
“What the fuck is she talking about, Astrid?”Lottie spat, the truth in the murderer’s words sending a shiver down her spine.
“How the hell would I know? The last Mate I had was about fifteen-hundred-years ago and he was killed in battle before we even consummated our joining. Just zap that Witch into a million pieces and let the vermin clean up the leftovers,”the Sleipnir Mare seethed.“She’s gotten away with too much hurt too many times. Stop her, Lottie.”
